Corset busk and clasp



No. s2|,o24. Patented Mar. |4, |399.

v. Bovv. CORSET BUSK AND CLASP.

(Application led Jan. 8, 189B.)

(No Model.)

TH: Nonms PETERS co.. vHoYaLnTwo.. WASHINGTON. u. c.

` UNITED STATES -VICTOR BOVY, OF NEI/V YORK, N. Y.

PATENT OFFICE,

CORSET BUSK AND CLASP.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 621,024, dated March 14, 1899.

Application filed January 8,1898. Serial No. 666,020. (No model.)

To all whom 132'; may concern.-

Beit known that I, VICTOR BOVY, acitizen of the United States, and a resident of New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Corset Busks and Olasps, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in corset busks and clasps; and my invention consists in a combination of parts hereinafter described, andillustrated in the drawings, by means of which the busks of a corset are rendered capable of longitudinal compression and the clasps are held firmly together, rendering undesirable alternate longitudinal or side motion at this point impossible, and thus preventing self-opening of a corset-clasp.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l represents a frontview of my clasp; Fig. 2, a side elevation of Fig. 1, partially in section; Fig. 3, an enlarged front view of the central port-ion of the clasp, partially in section, with the shields covering the spring broken off; Fig. 4, a horizontal section by the line o3 fr, Fig. 3. Figs. 5 and 6 represent a front view and a section of the central portion of a modied busk made on the same principle as the busks represented in Figs. 1, 2, and 3 without springs.

The busks are made each of two parts A and B, overlapping each other at their ends, the upper part A being preferably shorter than the lower part B. Near the upper end of part B, preferably, is secured thereon a prismatic band or guide h', carrying at its npper face a shield d, While the upper part A terminates below into a tongue @,considerably narrower in width than the width of A and arranged centrally, forming an abrupt shoulder a at either side, one of which or both` serve as a rest for a flat helical spring c, wound around the tongue a, the other end of which is resting against a rivet fr, secured to the part B, which rivet, passing through a slot a2 in the tongue d, together with the guide b and spring c, serves to connect bot-h parts of a busk together in such a manner that they are capable of a parallellongitudinal motion, the length of which is determined by the length of slot a2, the spring c returning the parts A and B after each compression to a position illustrated inFigs. l, 2, and 3.

The upper end h of part B is preferably slightly turned for a distance of the thickness of a spring-wire to assist in guiding both'parts parallel to each other. The rivet fr is preferably passed centrally through the part B and the shield d and serves, together with the shoulders d', projecting from the shield and serving as distance-pieces, to support the lower end of the shield d, and thus to estab- 'lish a solid box-shaped guide for the spring c necting both parts A and B. This peculiar construction of a busk is auxiliary to the formation of the rigid clamp illustrated in Figs.v l to 4, in which the regular studs m are secured to a busk at one end, while eyes h, t', and 7c very similar to the customary eyes are se' cured to the other end busk. Of these eyes preferably two aresecured to an upper part A only, one of which, k, is mounted thereon in the regular manner with a horizontal slot, while the remaining eyes, the upper eye h on part A and the eyes c' 'i on part B, are of the shape shown in the drawings,with the lockingslots placed vertically, thus connecting the two end busks when locked rigidly together, while yet allowing a joint longitudinal motion of both, when a person bending over will easily shorten both end busks by compressing the springs c c, and in straightening both upper parts A A will return to their former position, having put less strain upon the wearer of a corset than ordinary busks will cause, The eye h on part A has for obvious reasons the vertical slot pointing downward, while in the eyes t t the locking-slots point IOO upward. The mode of buttoning a corset is then as follows: The eye h having been locked into its corresponding stud m andthe slot pushed upon the stud will by an oscillating motion easily allow the locking of the eye 7c into its corresponding stud, and thus firmly secure the upper parts A A in their relative rigid position, while by taking hold of A A and compressing the spring on one side of a lower part B the enlarged openings of all the eyes on the lower part will be easily slipped over the studs on its mate, (whose spring has not been compressed,) and by releasing the pressure the lower parts B B will also be securely locked, and thus prevent the eye 7c on part A to uncouple, which again in turn checks any vertical motion of the other eyes except the legitimate joint motion of both upper parts.

For other busks than those used for the corset-clasp the two parts A and B may be joined and guided without springs, and a joint (illustrated in Figs. 5 and 6) can be e111- ployed, in which the guide b and shield d combined can be supplemented by a guide d2, preferably of the shape shown in the drawings. The ends of A and B in this case can be left straight, and a recess a3 in a side near one end of A and a corresponding rivet 7*,mounted upon B, can limit the relative motion of the two parts of a busk, the fabric itself taking care of the readjustment. Such busks will be best adapted for the sides of a corset having busks described above in their clasps.

Having thus described my invention, I claiml. As an article of manufacture, a busk made of two parts overlapping at their ends, and guided one within the other by means of a guide and a rivet secured to an end of one part and a tongue provided at the overlapping end of the other part, having a slot engaging with said rivet, both parts being sepa-i rated by a helical spring wound around said tongue and bearing against the rivet at one end and a shoulder at the base of the tongue at the other'end a shield protecting the mov ableV parts, as and for the purposes herein shown and set forth.

. 2. The combination of a busk formed of a part A having a slotted tongue a and the eyes 71, and k and a part B `having a nose b, guide b', shield d, rivet fr and eyes 7,' c' and a helical spring c, with an identical busk having studs m m in place of the eyes, as and for the purposes herein shown and described.

Signed at vNew York, in the county of New York and State of New York this (5th day of January, A. D. 1898.

VICTOR BOVY.

Witnesses;

HENRY C. MECKLEM, Jr., ELMER J. SNYDER. 

